Around the World

RUSSIA

Box of Hunting Ammo Means Jail for U.S. Pastor

A Moscow court on Monday convicted an American pastor of smuggling hunting ammunition into Russia and sentenced him to three years and two months in prison.

Phillip Miles, pastor of Christ Community Church in Conway, S.C., part of an evangelical fellowship, has been in custody since his arrest Feb. 3, several days after arriving in Moscow.

Miles has said he brought the .300-caliber cartridges for a friend who had recently bought a Winchester rifle -- a gun rarely found in Russia. He said he did not know bringing such ammunition into Russia was illegal.

"I'm very disappointed. It's a strange sentence for one box of hunting bullets," he said as bailiffs led him from the court in handcuffs. His lawyer, calling the sentence surprisingly severe, said he would appeal.

AFGHANISTAN

Girls' Schooling Lags

Only 35 percent of students in Afghanistan's schools are girls, and while overall enrollment is increasing, the percentage of female students is not, an aid group said Monday.

A shortage of female teachers, a number of boys-only schools and cultural barriers are factors keeping girls out of school, the group Care International said.

The education of girls in post-Taliban Afghanistan is held as an example of success by Afghan and Western officials. During Taliban rule, which ended after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, girls were banned from going to school and only about 1 million boys attended classes.

INDONESIA

Militant Leaders Guilty

Two leaders of the Southeast Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiah were sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison in Indonesia, dealing another blow to a group blamed for a string of deadly bombings in Bali and Jakarta.

Abu Dujana, the group's military commander, and Zarkasih, who acted briefly as caretaker leader, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit terrorist attacks, harboring fugitives and stockpiling illegal arms.